Improvement in expansion steam-traps



J. J. BOYLE Expansion Steam-Trap.

Patented Oct/29. 1878' F/G. F/G. Z.

NFEIERS, PMOfd-UTNOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, D C- UNITED STATESPAT-ENTIFFIGE.

JOHN J. BOYLE, or MANCHESTER, ennA-r BRITAIN.

IMPROVEMENT lN EXPANSI ON STEAM-TRAPS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 209,424, dated October29, 1878; application filed October 8, 1878; patented in England,February 28, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, J OHN JAMES RoYLE, of Manchester, in the county ofLancaster, Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, have inventedcertain'new and useful Improvements in Expansion Steam-Traps, which arefully set forth in the following specification, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to traps for automatically discharging air andwater of condensation from steam apparatus without permitting steam toescape; and it relates to that class of said traps in which theexpansion of a tube or tubes by the entrance of steam is made to closethe escape'valve or valves.

The present improvement consists in an expansion steam-trap having acentral valvebox containing a valve or valves which open outwardly andinlet and outlet tubes attached to opposite sides of said box and atright angles to the valve spindle or spindles, as hereinafter more fullyset forth. The effect of this combination is superior sensitiveness andadaptation to work at an angle as well as in vertical position, togetherwith the utmost simplicity and compactness.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a front exterior view, Fig. 2 aside view, and Fig. 3 a" partial section, of my improved expansionsteam-trap. Fig. 4 is a front view of asteam-trap, and Fig. 5 asectional view of a trap-valve, illustrating certain modifications.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, A represents a double valve -chamber, containingtwo outwardlyopening valves, B and 13, provided with spin= dles O and Opassing through the outside of the valve-chamber. In action these valvesclose down upon their respective seatings, B and B F and F are the tubesextending from the valve-chamber A, and hereinafter called the inlet andoutlet pipes, respectively. They are provided with branch pipes G and H,which form the inlet and outlet, respectively. The set-screwEconstitutes the means of adjustment, the point of the setscrew workingin a countersunk recess formed in the closed end of the tube F. Theopposite end bears against the boss D through a V-center, 1.

Two tension bars or strips of metal, D and D preferably of steel and ofa slightly-bowed form, as illustrated, are cast in the bosses, as seenby the dotted linesin Fig.1; or they may be connected to such bosses inany other suitable manner. l Y F Itwill be seen that the tension-bars Dand D bear upon the en'd-sof the valve-spindles G and 0, their function'being to close the valves 13 and B, as hereinafter explained.

'The inlet-pipe F is connected in the usualbeing now admitted into thesteam-pipe or apv paratus hercinbefore mentioned, the cold air and watercontained within the same will e11- ter the inlet-piped? and flow freelypast the now open valves, escaping therefrom through the outlet-pipe F;but as soon as the steam arrives the expansion of the inlet and outletpipes F and F and also of the valve-chamber A, causes thebosses D and Dto separate farther from each other, at the same time straightening thetension-bars D and D to such an extent as to force the valvesB andB totheir respective seatin gs, and so closing the thoroughfare through thesteam-trap. Upon first fixing the steam-trap the adj Listing-screw Eshould be set so as to cause the tensionbars D and D just to close thevalves when the steam has arrived. Any condensed water, which may flowinto the trap will then be discharged self-actingly. The condensed waterrunning into the inlet-pipe F being of a lower temperature than thesteam causes such tube to shorten slightly by contraction. This allowsthe bosses D and D to approach each other to the same extent, and byvirtue of the peculiar arrangement of the tension-rods this movement istransferred to the valves only in a highly-increased ratio, and as aconsequence the trap is extremely sensitive, the slightest contractionof the pipes F and F causing a considerable movement of the valves. Thenearer the tension-bars D and D are tobeing parallel with the centerline of the valve box and pipes the more sensitive will the steamtrap beinaction, and the greater the move-- ment given to the valves 13 and BIn Fig. 5 I show a modification of the valvebox, illustrating how onevalve may be used in place of the double valve hereinbefore explained.In this case one of the tension-bars would rest against the solid capIt, and the whole movement of the tension-bars would thus be transferredthrough the spindle S to the valve T.

Fig. iillustrates another modification of my invention. The constructionis substantially and the action precisely as in the first-describedarrangement.

The two tubes F and I pass through the bosses M and M. M is fixed inposition upon the tube F by the two lock-nuts O and O. The other boss,M, is free to slide upon the tube F under the control of the adjustingnut or wheel N, which runs upon the screwthread formed upon the tube F Aportion of the screw-thread formed upon each pipe extends through andbeyond the bosses, as illustrated, for making the usual connections.

In the preferred form illustrated by Figsl and 2, after the trap isfixed, the bosses D and D and tension-rods D and D forming what may becalled the bracing-frame, may be removed at any time by simplyslackening the set-screw E and drawing it off, leaving the trap as inFig. 3. The valves are thus very accessible for cleaning or examinationwithout disconnecting any joints.

7 Iclaim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent Thecombination, in an expansion steamtrap, of a central valve-box, inletand outlet tubes attached, respectively, to the top and bottom of saidbox, an outwardly-openin g valve or valves working at right angles tosaid tubes, a pair of bosses or heads applied to the outer extremitiesof said tubes, and a'pair of outwardly-bowed tension-rods engaging withthe spindle or spindles of said valve or valves, substantially as hereinshown and described, for the purposes set forth.

- JOHN JAMES BOYLE.

Witnesses:

GEORGE RICHMOND, HARRY WILLIAMS. 7

